Oscar Pistorius cemented his status as the icon of the London Paralympics by winning gold in the final track event in the Olympic Stadium.
As for the star of the games, however, look no further than British wheelchair racer David Weir.
The man nicknamed the “Weirwolf of London” has become a household name in the host nation by triumphing in the 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m over the past week.
Photo: Reuters
And he completed his clean sweep of golds yesterday, timing his sprint finish to perfection to win the wheelchair marathon in blazing sunshine along the streets of the capital in 1 hour, 30 minutes, 20 seconds.
Thousands of spectators lined the route of the marathon to cheer on the 33-year-old Weir, who was competing in his home city nearly five months after winning the London Marathon for the sixth time.
“It’s just amazing, I am lost for words,” Weir said. “I knew I had to be in some sort of super-human state to win four gold medals and I’ve done it.”
Pistorius’ resounding victory in the 400m on Saturday earned the competition’s poster boy his second gold medal of the Games, adding to a victory in the 4x100m relay in a week when he surrendered his 100m and 200m titles.
The South African double amputee is the world’s most famous Paralympian, transcending the world of disabled sport and this summer becoming the first athlete to take part in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Yet, he has been overshadowed in London by Weir, whose displays at the Olympic Stadium have been greeted by a so-called “Wall of Sound” from fans down the home straight. Many teammates also took to a ritual of howling as he crossed the line, in reference to his new moniker.
“To tell you the truth, every race I did in that stadium, I didn’t feel under pressure because the crowd was behind you if you won, lost or anything,” said Weir, whose image has adorned billboards throughout the Paralympics. “It didn’t matter what position you came in, they were still behind you and they still loved you.”
Weir, who along with swimmer Ellie Simmonds and cyclist Sarah Storey is the host country’s most famous current Paralympian, was the favorite for the marathon and was among a group of six racers that broke away early as the field sped past a host of London landmarks, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace.
As the finish line came into sight, Weir was battling with Marcel Hug of Switzerland and Kurt Fearnley of Australia for gold, and the Briton pulled away to win by a second in a season’s best time.
“I did have lots of dreams of winning four gold medals, but I think everybody has those dreams,” Weir said. “I knew I was capable of doing it.”
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
RSS